Affliction of the Heart
by Evil Author
Summary: Shinji battling with inner demons as well as the outer ones. A mysterious new boy appears in school and captures Kensuke's heart, Kaoru is back and SEELE are up to something. Shounen Ai/Yaoi. Try not to be confusing when it comes to reveiwing.
1. Lost

Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion. It belongs to the great big Gainix in the sky. There you have it, no joke, just a simple disclaimer, go on…nothing coming up…go on. Oh and there will be some limited violence. Italics denounce thought.

I'm writing this because I want to write, the language should be acceptable but not extraordinary. Please don't put too many bad comments on the language, oh yes. It has Yaoi in it.

Affliction of the Heart:

"Unit 01 has been hit!" the young Lieutenant Ibuki screamed to the rest of the command centre. The purple Eva stood hunched over with one arm covering the bleeding wound, inside the third child cried out in agony. "Un-ngh!" His hand clutching his chest cradling the unseen wound. Outside the Eva's hand clutched on the spear that was impaling the Eva's torso.

"Heh, well third child looks like you're losing **again**!" Pilot Soryu taunted over the comm.. channel. Shinji had an evil smirk on his face, one his father would've been proud of. "What makes you think that?"

Asuka's eyes turned to saucers as Unit 01 pulled out the spear from out of its chest. "What?! How?!" The tip of the spear emerged with a sickening crunch. _'Shinji's getting better, this must be a good sign'_ Misato mused from the bridge. Eva Unit 01 pounced from the hillside, catching a few buildings with its feet. It raised the spear in a cat like fashion and swiftly cleft the flesh of Unit 02's neck slicing it clean off. Unit 01 held its position still holding the spear, leaving the red mecha to fall to the ground. 

_'Shinji, you're such a poser.'_ Rei inwardly chuckled, without changing her outward expression. "End simulation" Ritsuko called from the observation deck. Asuka just stuck her nose up as her entry plug was ejected from her Eva. "This simulation program is turning out to be quite effective don't you think Major?" 

"I dunno Ritsuko, it may fan the flames of hatred between those two." Misato mentioned nonchalantly. "I think I see what you mean…"

"Don't get cocky Ikari! I was going easy on you!" a familiar voice came through on the channel. "You were what?! I bet you were, I know you wouldn't let your precious Unit 02 get hurt that badly!" Came the accusing reply. "Ach!" Asuka just sighed as she exited her entry plug. 

On the way to the locker room she passed Sub-Commander Fuuyutski. Asuka was rambling on to herself about something. The old professor gave Asuka an odd look but just continued past her. "Strange girl…oh well."

  
  


* * *

  
  


'Why did my father…I mean the commander order me up here…I didn't do anything wrong.'

"Shinji…" Shinji was taken aback, had the commander just called him that. "Y-yes?" _'Damnit…why can't I say it. I just can't do it…it's too late.'_ The commander noticed that his son was getting uncomfortable, wondering what his 'dad' wanted him for. _'Oh, hell…I'll tell him later…tell him I'm sorry.'_  Gendo's glasses glinted in what passed for light in that room. "…Never mind…" Shinji blinked…but left without saying anything. Passing Fuuyutski on the way out he started talking to himself about how his life sucked so much. "…I wonder if I should recommend a psychologist." Kozou mumbled to himself before entering the office.

"I take it you didn't tell him?" Fuuyutski asked, straightening out his uniform. Gendo just hung his head. "You will have to tell him one of these days."

"I know old friend, I know…"

  
  


* * *

  
  


"I'm baaaack!" Came the announcement to which no reply was given. Asuka poked her head found the corner and noticed the room was empty, apart from a sleeping figure curled up on the couch. "Hey…where is everyone?" Asuka pouted. A quiet sound emitted from the penguin on the sofa. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


"Whats wrong, fever? I've never seen you work here this long after your shift?" Ritsuko teased the Major who was at Melchior's terminal. "Hmm, oh just research for the new project the sub-commander has me working on, shouldn't be too much trouble for the system." She lied through her teeth.

"I'm more worried about you. Major, are you feeling well?" the good doctor asked. Before she was just teasing but a certain operations director was looking drained. "I've been busy lately Ritsuko, I just need to get this then I'll go home, I can finish the rest there."

"I'll take your word for it." With that she went back to work.

  
  


* * *

  
  


In Shinji came, not noticing the presence of the other on the floor watching the TV, on the other hand…"Shinji!? Where the hell were you?!" 

Instead of responding Shinji just pushed Asuka out of his path and entered his room silently, hoping for some escape, he grabbed his faithful SDAT and lay there, listening to the music it serenely emitted. He heard the front door opening, probably Misato, she usually arrived at this time.

"Misat-? Hyuga? What do you want?" That grabbed Shinji's attention. He knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but let's face it they weren't exactly being quiet, well Asuka wasn't exactly being quiet. "Well I- Um...well I sorta…um-" mumbled the technician "Spit it out!" you could tell she was getting impatient because of the intrusion. "Uh, I came to drop off Major Katsuragi's laundry. Yeah!" he chimed.

"A feeble excuse but I can't be bothered to argue with you...Well, whats keeping you?" If Shinji were there he would of laughed at the shade of Makoto's face. "Um, nothing at all! I'll go now!" he couldn't get away from the demon queen fast enough.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Misato was about to slide the key in the door, when it suddenly burst open followed quickly by a cream blur.

"Hyuga?" Misato wondered why he was running so fast…and the fact that he was at her apartment at the first place. "Oh well"

"Where's Shinji?" Came the concerned voice of the major. "_Sulking_ again! He's in his room!" The complaint in the redheads voice was obvious. "Asuka, he's had a rough week, keep your voice down and let him sleep" She was right though, Shinji had had a rough week, pressures from school getting greater, tests at NERV, Asuka hadn't been helping much.

Right then, right there, Shinji could of sworn he felt a pair of slender ethereal arms wrap round his waist, there was a warmth about it he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he felt safe. His eyelids got heavy, before falling asleep Shinji thought he heard a whispered 'I love you'.

  
  


* * *

  
  


"Mm, good morning Shinji" Misato yawned, dressed in her typical morning attire. She took her usual can of Yebisu then took her usual first gulp. "Yeehaw! Good stuff!" She burped, Shinji had on his trademark frown, then as if on cue, the doorbell rung.

"Good morning Ikari!" Suzahara chimed almost melodically. "Hey Misato! We're taking off now!" Kensuke just grabbed the overly hormonal teen "Come on lover-boy, not today" 

Touji said in mock embarrassment "Oh my Aida-chan, I didn't know you felt that way about me!" Touji made a kissy face at Kensuke who just gritted his teeth. Shinji was staring at the two stooges. "Uh, can you get outta the way now, I need to leave the house." This brought the two out of their reverie. "Heh, sorry Shin-man."

Halfway down the stairs, the three stooges heard the devil stir. "Hey Shinji! Wait for meeeee!" Asuka ran down the stairs trailing Shinji, that is until she spotted Aida and Suzahara. "Oh…never mind, I'll take the long way." Said the disheartened Asuka. "Psst, Shinji, I think she likes you." Touji whispered. Shinji blushed furiously, he didn't actually have any real interest in Asuka…in fact, he didn't actually like anyone in 'that' way…no one who was alive anymore though. Suddenly he thought of Kaoru, he missed him, his best friend, even though he was an angel.

  
  


* * *

  
  


As soon as they entered the classroom Touji and Kensuke were separated and dragged aside. Touji of course by his girlfriend Miss Horaki and Kensuke by a new arrival Juiro. They said new, but he'd really only been there about a month. They had no idea where he really came from, but he was quite slim, only slightly taller than Kensuke and had a rather pale complexion with the contrasting shoulder length black hair. Lord knows why but the new kid only seemed friendly towards Kensuke…even so he acted a little too friendly.

Oh well, what his friend did in his personal life was non of Shinji's business. _'Heh, it's actually kind of cute…'_ Where the hell did that come from? He pondered that for a few moments until the teacher came in. "All rise!" chirped the Class Representative. "Sit!"

  
  


* * *

  
  


Halfway through first period, which was of course Shinji's favourite subject, maths (A/N: Why does every fic have the teacher teaching about the second impact? They must get taught something else) he got a message from Touji:

"Hear the rumours about Aida? They're starting to get rampant"

Shinji hadn't heard any rumours about his friend, but he's sure that Touji would spill. If not he'd hear them from another. He looked over at Kensuke, he was furiously typing away, probably not work, he aced the latest test. Shinji doubted he needed to listen to sensei anymore. He looked like he was more concerned with answering his messages. T'was about time Shinji replied to Touji:

"No…elaborate."

Whilst waiting for a reply, he glanced at Rei, at her usual place by the window, as usual she was more interested on what was going on outside than what was inside. The third child's monitor bleeped, indicating a message.

"Well there's been a hell of a lot of rumours going round that Kensuke's gay, I don't really know though, he has been acting really 'friendly' with that Juiro kid."

Shinji paused, then typed:

"So what's the big deal?"

Touji physically turned and raised an eyebrow at his friend. Shinji gave him a look that said, 'We'll find out later'

  
  


* * *

  
  


At lunch it was practically impossible to get a hold of Kensuke, for he was being surrounded with people wondering about the rumours, however Juiro was more accessible sitting on a bench on the corner of the school building, although he had an upset expression on his face. Touji poked his head round the corner. "'ey Juiro-san!" 

"What do you want Suzahara?" he remained passive. "Why aren't you hanging around Kensuke, we got the impression that you two were friends." Juiro scowled but other than that he kept silent. Shinji thought it was best if he intervened "Suzahara-kun, you can be so blunt. Anyway, why aren't you over there?"

"They won't leave my Kensuke alone" Juiro paused, realising what he said, he blushed hoping they didn't catch the slip, he should've kept quiet. "**Your** Kensuke?" Touji grinned, this just proved the rumours. "Ah- I didn't say that!" tears welled up in his eyes. "Oh god, you wont tell anyone will you?!" His tears glided down his pale cheeks freely. Shinji's heart fell at seeing his acquaintances plight. Touji also looked saddened but there was underlying anger.

"Grrr" whoever crossed Touji in this hour would pay dearly. The fourth child walked over to the massive crowd. "Hey! Clear off, give him some damn time to himself!" he yelled, ploughing his way through the mob. He spotted his friend, tears in his eyes. Kensuke practically had to be dragged out. Touji guided him round the corner to where Shinji was, while giving a look to his classmates that said, 'Follow me if you want, do so and you die.' Aida was shaking like a leaf until he felt a strong pair of arms encircle him, it was Juiro, cradling his Kensuke in his arms. "Shh, it's alright baby-" He bit his last words as he noticed he still had an audience of two.

Shinji just smiled at the couple, Touji had the urge to stick his fingers down his throat at the complete mushiness of it all. "We'll leave if you want."

Meanwhile, Kensuke regained his composure in his love's arms. "It's okay…when you go back round the corner, they'll come round the corner…and besid-" The bell rang. All four of them groaned at the hideous noise. Juiro released his embrace on his boyfriend grudgingly and offered him his hand. "…What about the rumours?" Juiro give him a smile, "What rumours? All I see is fact." Kensuke hesitated for a moment, but then readily accepted the offer. What a surprise the class had. Aida could feel his resolve starting to waiver. Juiro gave him a reassuring squeeze before moving on, followed by Touji and Shinji.

"Four little faggots, sitting in a tree!" Juiro and Kensuke were hurt, but didn't outwardly show it. Touji ignored it as he draped his arm round his nearby girlfriend, she grinned and flashed an 'L' sign at the rest of the Class. Shinji was out of his mind with rage. He smirked, hell he was more like his father than he cared to admit. He made a gun motion with his thumb and forefinger. The recipient of this false attack paled. "One more word, then it wont be so fake" Shinji flashed him the most evil smile he could muster. Everyone's jaw dropped at the normally quiet boy. 

"Whoa…Shinji you didn't have to do that for us."

"I didn't do it for you." Kensuke raised his eyebrow and thought he misheard, he just shrugged it off and made his way to class.

Kensuke was in a foul mood, he blocked all messages except those from his closest friends. Damn he was pissed, they wouldn't leave him alone. A message from Shinji:

"So how long has this been going on eh? ;)"

Well, he wasn't too sure…two weeks?

"Uh, bout 2 weeks now Shin-man"

Two whole weeks? How come he didn't notice them. Maybe he did, that would explain why he had been missing a few lunchtimes and why he hadn't been round Touji's place that much. …interesting. Hmm, he wasn't too bothered about this development as such.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Gendou ran his fingers through his hair. "Whats the matter sir?" the Sub-Commander chuckled. "You're not nervous are you?" He asked in a sarcastic tone. If he was any other man, he would have been dead where he stood, but since he wasn't any other man…

Kozou took note of his friends steely glare and decided it was best to shut up. "Do you think Pilot Ikari- I mean Shinji will be surprised at what's been planned." Gendou twitched as he forced himself to correct his sentence

"My dear friend, you have a talent for understatement." Gendou eyes widened. "You!"

  
  


* * *

  
  


"…and tomorrow is your parent teacher meeting, everyone must show regardless." That brought a collective groan from the class. _'Ah, shit. I'm going to be the odd one out again, Misato is away again.'_

"Class dismissed"

The entire class as one massive blue, ran for outside…for freedom.

Outside he noticed Juiro and Kensuke talking by the school gates, when he spotted that boy who gave them trouble earlier walking towards them, he honestly didn't know his name. "Hey fairies!" Shinji's blood started to boil. _'How could they just ignore them like that.'_

"Just because that dumb jock and wuss-boy stood up for you earlier doesn't mean I'm not going to beat you up now, animals!" Juiro slipped his hand on Kensuke's "Leave us alone." Juiro stated rather sternly. "Oh, it bites back, well we'll just have to put it down" the bully raised his fist and threw a punch at Kozanae. He fell backwards but was caught by Kensuke who shot the bully a death glare. "I'll get you for this Haijun!" Kensuke spat. 

Shinji ran over. "What the fuck?!" He looked over at Juiro who was nursing his eye and Kensuke with tears welling up. "You too you wuss? Oh you're in way over your head." He poised, ready to strike again, he pulled his arm back, when he heard the soft click of a gun safety being released.. "Wrong move" The person holding the weapon pistol whipped the antagonistic teen. "Damn, he's got a tough head, almost broke my gun."

"Kaji!"

"Hey kiddo." The unshaven man, dressed sharply in his NERV uniform as usual. "If I may ask…why are you here?" Kaji smiled before looking over to the couple.

"Hey kid? You ok?" Juiro just nodded, with Kensuke hanging off him. Shinji noticed his blood stained clothes. In fact, the similarity to Kaji's uniform was amazing. "Well I've been told to bring you to NERV central. Looks like I arrived just in time." Shinji nodded. He didn't feel like working today…but duty calls. "What about these two?" Shinji just looked up at Kaji wondering why he asked that question. "The moron taking the nap, want me to scare 'em?" Shinji just smirked. Ryouji's question was answered.

"You're a mean bastard Ikari." Kaji smiled, Shinji decided to take that as a compliment. _'Dear god, I'm becoming more like him every day.'_ The realisation hit Shinji, oh well, better see why I gotta go into work.

  
  


* * *

  
  


While Shinji was being rushed to the geo-front Gendou was chatting to an old 'acquaintance'.

"Kozanae, what the hell are you doing here?" Gendou spat hatefully. "Well well old friend, what's gotten into you, what happened to the cheerful prankster I knew?"

"He grew up. Now, have you come to ask me something or just waste my time."

"A little from column A, and a little from column B." he gained a serious expression. "It's about my son." Gendou could have sworn he saw a hint of desperation in the man's eyes. "Oh, yes how is Juiro." Kozou, who was lurking in the shadows was getting sick of all these pleasantries. "Being hunted. SEELE want him for something. I have no idea what. I need him protected."

"We are not a bodyguard service." Kozou interjected. "Now, Fuuyutski I'm sure SEELE wouldn't bother civilians unless it was worth something to them…we need as many advantages over them as possible." Kozou assimilated this information then stepped back into his place in the shadows. "Very well, I'll have on of my best men on it."

  
  


* * *

  
  


"What are you doing here?!"

"He works here Asuka, just like you." Kaji calmly interrupted. "Oh! Kaji!" she flung herself into his arms. A cough was heard. "Mr. Kaji" Kaji paled. Gendou Ikari threw a playful glare at Kaji, although to Kaji it looked like a death sentence. He looked at Asuka and Shinji "Come this way." Gendou led the children, Kaji and Kozou into the conference room. 

Shinji hadn't actually been in this room before, it didn't look anything like the rest of NERV. This had a slightly antiquated look about it. There was a thick red carpet, works of art on the wall and a long mahogany conference table in the centre of the room. Shinji could tell Asuka was taken aback to. 

"Please, take a seat." Gendou took the head of the table, Fuuyutski beside Gendou and Kaji opposite Kozou. The second and third took seats opposite each other. "I have come to be the bearer of bad news. There is a spy among us." Asuka took a sharp breath, odd. "Whats worse, the spy is actually a pupil at your school." It was Shinji's turn to be shocked. "To make matters even more worse, that's all we know. It will be your duty to find this SEELE spy, then eliminate them." Kozou added

"Don't you think this will be a little problematic. I mean, they're only kids, they're not as desensitised to violence as we are. Do you really think these two can kill someone?"

"Mr. Kaji with all due respect, I have confidence in my sons abilities, I'm sure Pilot Soryu can handle this as well. Questions?" The commander looked around. "No, then dismissed!" Kaji and the two teens got up, bowed and exited.

"I wonder who it is…" Asuka idly commented. "It's hard to think someone so young can be a spy. Someone we know. Intelligence should have taken care of any spy ages ago, they're dragging there asses again." Came Shinji's reply. "Oh well…there are some new arrivals in school tomorrow, do you think it could be one of them?" A hint of nervousness graced Asuka's features. "No, the commander said that they were enrolled…guess we can only wait."

  
  


* * *

  
  


A semi-dark room, a soft humming from the noise of the city outside, two bodies curled up on the bed by the window. Juiro cradled Kensuke in his arms tracing circles on his chest with his finger. After a while Kensuke decided to break the silence. "You sure you're okay?" 

"Ken-chan, that's got to be the twentieth time you've asked me today, I feel perfectly fine, I heal fast." The only response Juiro got this time was a sigh,

Kensuke playfully batted away Kozanae's hand. "I'm bored."

Juiro picked up the hint. "Sorry your highness, is there anything else I can do to please you?" Juiro added with a wink. "Well I'm not sure, I can think of a few things." Juiro leaned forward and captured Kensuke's lips. His tongue probing the inside of Kensuke's mouth, a small moan was emitted from his boyfriend. Kensuke rubbed his hands up and down his lover's back, while he felt a hand start to unbutton his shirt. Before it could go any further Juiro heard the bedroom door open. 

The intruder's eyes doubled. "Aww, jeez. Didn't I tell you two to wait for me to go to bed first?" The panic in Juiro's face died down a level. "You're just lucky I wasn't dad." Sara stuck her tongue out at Juiro, who responded with an equally stupid face. "So, what do you want?" 

"Just got a call from dad, he said he'd be a little longer at NERV, he needs to do some work on the Magi." At this Kensuke's ears perked up, for two reasons actually. One for the reason that he'd be able to spend more time with his boyfriend and two…"So what does your dad do?"

"Oh, he's a level 2 computer technician working on the Magi…so with that, I think I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." She gave them a wink then walked out of the room. "Your sisters weird."

"Yeah, I know"

Juiro looked Kensuke in the eye before pouncing on the defenceless teen. "Where were we…"

  
  


* * *

  
  


The TV was blaring, they were watching a British comedy, Shinji didn't quite grasp why Asuka was laughing hysterically at the seemingly not funny jokes. About 15 minutes into the show, the commercials came on. Asuka, who got bored with the senseless droning on how Bubbles the Lion could help improve her wash, spoke up.

"Hey Shinji, what do you think of this Kensuke, Juiro thing?" The demon queen mumbled. "Well, I'm not too bothered. Actually I think it's kinda cute." Asuka raised an eyebrow, people had been doing that often in the past few days. "Are you gay as well Shinji?" 

He spat out the soda he was drinking. "N-no!" Asuka looked at him doubtingly. "Oh, I think you are Shinji…just who exactly was your last girlfriend?"

"Uh, I- erm…I'm just…shy." Shinji cowered. "Oh come on third child, no one is **that** shy, or stupid."

"…" _'It's not true, I'm not gay, am I?'_ While Shinji struggled with his internal conflict, there was a glint of sadistic pleasure in Asuka's eyes. "In fact, I'm sure I've seen you give Touji a few looks, if you get what I mean." She grinned.

"Stop teasing me!"  He fell back into his chair sighing. "There, you're damn programme is on now. Leave me alone!" 

"Struck a nerve did I? Oh well, who am I to judge." Shinji had had enough, he picked himself out of his hole, walked into and slammed the door of his room. "Jeez, I was just kidding, what crawled up his butt?" She mused over this for a second, before bursting into hysterics at the television.

  
  


* * *

  
  


A knock on the door roused Sara Kozanae from the land of nod. He who dared to disturb her sleep played with fire. She got up and groggily wandered to her bedroom door. Another knocking. She wondered if it was her brother or his useless boyfriend. She opened the door to Juiro's domain, nope not them. Another knocking, do they ever get up?

She came to the conclusion that it was the front door. She walked over to the aforementioned door, pressed a few buttons and hey presto, she was confronted by a dark haired man in a NERV intelligence uniform. "Huwha?" She groaned out.

"Hey there, can I talk to a Juiro Kozanae?"

"Uh…hold on…Juiro! Tear your ass away from Kensuke for a second, some guy wants to talk to you!" Kaji facefaulted. _'This girl's worse than Misato.'_

A grunting noise came from the nearby room, followed by a loud crash, followed by a door opening. A half-naked Juiro walked out. "Hey you're that kid I helped earlier. How are you?" 

"Oh…fine, Kaji was it?" A pillow came flying from the door way and hit Juiro on the head, followed by a small giggle. "Well, erm yes. I'm here to inform you NERV has assigned a personal bodyguard, he will be around at any time during the day should you wish to meet him. At night section 2 guards will be placed at various locations around these premises. Oh, we were escorting this gentleman back home as well, but I'm sure you would like to talk to him."

Kaji snapped his fingers and three intelligence agents brought a frightened child into the light. "You!" Juiro spat. "I doubt he'll be bothering you again…will you?"

"I'll do what I want!" he felt a sharp pain hit him in the head, the trapped bully faded out of consciousness. Kaji was fiddling with his pistol. "Sorry about that, if he bothers you, tell your bodyguard, he'll do something about it. Ja na, tell Kensuke I said hi."

"Uh sure." Juiro divulged this information, then shrugged it off. He grabbed the pillow in the doorway. "Oh my, don't think you're getting away with that." He giggled before jumping into the room."

  
  


* * *

  
  


"…Am I really gay?" Shinji asked himself out loud. He remembered…remembered Kaoru…how he thought Touji looked so good that first day, how he found out he was a complete retard 10 minutes later. He compared it to the girls he knew. Asuka, eww no. She was a demon, if not the devil incarnate. Rei, she was…okay…but he wouldn't consider her girlfriend material, plus she had the personality of a half brick. _'Fighting inner demons?'_ That voice, the smooth velvety tenor.

_'…but…you're-'_

_'Dead? My dear friend, you cannot kill a messenger of god.'_ The voice replied. _'Get out of my head!' _Shinji mentally screamed. _'…As you wish, but you cannot avoid me forever. You will figure this out sometime.'_

__

Just hearing that voice made Shinji melt into his pillow. Why did Kaoru do this to him? Why did his mind do this to him? Kaoru was dead, long dead. He couldn't change that, no matter how insane he went…he knew the answer, he still loved Kaoru, even after death. 

"I am." He said to himself. "I wonder where Misato is now."

  
  


* * *

  
  


"God damn it, I'm sure Commander Ikari sent me here for a laugh. It's hot!" The middle of an arid plain. The sun was beating down on the platoon of NERV soldiers' backs. "Desert combat training, worthless, I should be at NERV!" She hissed once more as she oversaw the training of more troops. "Damned sheep."

  
  


* * *

  
  


School next morning came all too fast. Asuka had already left the apartment. Only Touji came for him this morning.

On the way to school Touji asked him an interesting question. "Where's Misato-sama today?" Shinji cringed at the suffix. She wasn't a god, she abhorred being treated with superiority especially by those who weren't subordinates.

"Honestly, I don't know. Why aren't you with Hikari this morning, I thought you went for her on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?"

"Yeah, well the demon is round her house today. I don't think I can bring myself round to gazing on a being of such beauty, next to the deepest darkest fear of my soul." He cried melodramatically. "Big baby." 

They continued walking for another 20 minutes. School seemed to be getting further and further away. When they finally entered the halls of boredom they were greeted with another horrible sight. A group of jocks had surrounded Kensuke poised ready to strike. 

Touji sighed, he wasn't in the mood for fighting today but he ran over with Shinji anway.. "Damn queer. You were a mistake, you should've never been born!" Why did they have to be so angry at something which Kensuke had no control over. 

A figure dressed in black with the familiar tied back hair walked over to them. Accompanied with what looked like a smaller version of him. Just now did Shinji notice that Juiro and Kaji had some major similarities; hair colour, taste in dress, demeanour.

Before violence erupted, Ryouji tried to talk some sense into the rowdy teens, but failed miserably. The first punch, was not thrown at Kensuke but at Ryouji. He looked bored. He grabbed the unfortunate boy's arm and twisted it into an unnatural position. 

The arm snapped with a sickening crunch, the teenager bellowed out with pain. Shinji thought he heard Kaji distinctly say "Next time, I'll shoot you." In a tone that could have matched his father's.

The bell rung before they had a chance to say 'hi'. Walking to certain doom never felt so cheery. Depression was hanging in the air like a putrid smog. They entered the oh so familiar classroom and took their seats.

Sensei walked in with a bright look on his face. At least he was feeling happy. Which is more than anyone could say for the rest of the class. You'd think someone had died. "Class, I am very excited to inform you that we have three new students today. Matumato Fureto, Meru Aruka and Nagisa Kaoru. 

That last name brought Shinji out of his trance. Utter shock filled his features. "As you know, Mr Nagisa was once here before, but had to go. Now he's back. Everyone greet your new classmates."

"Konnichiwa Matumato-san, konnichiwa Meru-san, konnichiwa Nagisa-san." Chimed the entire class in a monotonous tone. "Please take your seats, Miss Meru, take a seat next to Miss Horaki. Mr Matumato, there is a space next to Miss Kozanae. Hmm, you take your seat next to Mr Ikari." The teacher referred to Kaoru.

Shinji was just speechless. "B-but…you're-"

"Dead?"

This conversation had been said, in his head, god was playing a cruel joke on Ikari. "Don't worry, there is no more Tabris….just Kaoru." Shinji didn't know whether to smile or frown. On one hand, his friend, the one he loved, was alive. On the other hand, he betrayed him. "…Kao-"

"Quiet down please! There will be plenty of time to get acquainted with your classmates later."

Today was going to be a long day, Shinji could feel it in his bones.

Authors notes: Do you think I should a side story later about how Kensuke and Juiro got together? I might do. This **is** my longest piece of work. Didn't know that did you? I've still got the inspiration to continue, this is just a good place to stop.

Well, wish me luck to continue. 


	2. Found

_Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion. It belongs to the great big Gainix in the sky. There you have it, no joke, just a simple disclaimer, go on…nothing coming up…go on. Oh and there will be some limited violence. Italics denounce thought. _

I'm writing this because I want to write, the language should be acceptable but not extraordinary. Please don't put too many bad comments on the language, oh yes. It has Yaoi in it

Affliction of the Heart   


* * *

  


Shinji's bones chose this odd occasion to be right. Shinji had progressed through the excruciating subject known as geography. No one really cared about it. Especially Tokyo 3-jin. Their landscape would change at the drop of a hat. Or at least, used to. 

At the 15 minute break at the end of the first lesson, Shinji noticed Kaoru eyeing Kensuke and Juiro strangely. The aforementioned couple were of course, busy crawling all over each other. Asuka and Rei chose the five minute interval to walk over to Shinji.

"That is-"

"Kaoru, I know Rei." interrupted Shinji. "How can it be, the fifth was terminated a year ago." Asuka laughed. "**That **is the fifth child?! How can he be an angel, he's just soooo hot!" Shinji rolled his eyes. "That's not the point Asuka." 

"Ikari-kun is correct, besides, I believe the fifth to be homosexual." Asuka looked saddened, but her famous 'wit' flared up. "And I believe the third to be homosexual, y'think we should hook these two up?"

"Asuka! Are you forgetting that Kaoru tried to destroy mankind?!"

"Oh, yeah." She seemed to brush it off. "I think we should report this to NERV." Rei informed the bickering teens. "I think Kaji is already on it." Shinji pointed into the agent's direction, fiddling with his cell phone. The gray haired bishounen walked over to the trio. Asuka was about to open her mouth but was cut short when Kaoru answered her unasked question. "Yes I am. Anyway, I suppose you would like to know why I am here?" Shinji and Rei glared over at the red-haired pilot. "Well I had to make sure!"

Kaoru laughed. "On topic now, I am here again. This time, to defend you."

"Defend us? I think we can do a good job of that ourselves Fifth, I mean, we did beat you, didn't we?" Asuka groaned. "If you didn't know already, I let myself be killed. History is written by the victors, very few know what truly happened that day. Oh, I think we shouldn't talk about this here, or did you forget about NERV policy?"

Rei nodded "Yes, this is hardly the time or place to discuss this. However, we cannot discuss this at NERV, Tabris is a security risk." Kaoru winced at the use of his real name. "Just call me Kaoru."

The bell chose a nice time to ring, cutting off any chances of cross-examination of the Angel. Kaoru returned to his seat leaving the first, second and third stunned. The second lesson proved intolerably stupid. A group of idiots decided it would be fun to throw bits of stationary at the teacher and blame it on Kaoru. "Mr. Nagisa, your first day isn't looking good is it?"

"No sir."

Shinji sat there while Kaoru took his punishment. Near the climax of this verbal beating, Shinji had had enough. "Sensei, he didn't-"

"Be quiet Ikari, both of you are on lunchtime detention!" Both Kaoru and Shinji sunk into their seat's groaning.

  


* * *

  


Lunchtime, everyone was out enjoying themselves, the teachers in the staff room kicking back, the two unfortunate students caught in the fiery wrath of the sensei stuck sitting in the sweltering heat of the classroom.

"Thanks for trying to defend me…" 

"No problem. But I do have a question. Why do you come to school if you're omniscient?"

"You're thinking of the maker. I just have increased mental abilities." answered Kaoru. "Like?"

"NERV has it's secrets, Heaven has its own." Kaoru smiled, Shinji just smiled back.

"So, why are you here?" Kaoru's look turned grim. "To protect you, a fate worse than death awaits, I am here to prevent that. I am the only one who can mould the future into the shape that is safe, with the aid of the Lillim of course."

"Of course. How can I believe you?" 

"Only if you can bring yourself round to believing me. I never lie. I meant everything I said on 'that' day." Shinji had a warm feeling in his chest, it was quite pleasant. If everything that Kaoru said on that day was true…then that meant. "That also."

Kaoru stared into Shinji's eyes. Shinji felt himself grow weak, yet it was not one of Kaoru's many talents. Kaoru bridged the gap between the two, until their faces' were centimetres from each other. Teenage hormones were at boiling point in both of them, each other's breath felt like a thousand tiny needles tingling the skin, it was actually quite nice though.

The door crashed open, the two innocent victims of the teacher's wrath pulled apart, blushing furiously. "Oh, it's the poofs. Was I interrupting something?" Everyone's favourite antagonist arrived. "I would advise against upsetting me." 

"Oh, why would that be?" Kaoru grinned and flickered his AT field at the bully. "You never saw this." Were Kaoru's words. "Something I don't get about you though. You were threatened with an Eva stomping you, threatened by a friend of the most powerful person in this city's son, your friends arm was broken and he was threatened to be shot. Why must you continue your string of idiocy?" He regained his natural colour, for being whiter than Kaoru was not healthy, snorted at the question and walked back out of the room.

"He's either incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid." Kaoru sighed. "I'm sorry Shinji…" he lowered his head in shame. "I should've seen him coming."

Shinji reached out and took Kaoru's hand into his own. "It's alright Kaoru…I should be apologising, I let myself go too far." Kaoru met Shinji's loving gaze. "Let's just say we're both sorry and let it be that. "It's near the end of lunchtime, can we talk after school, at the parent teacher meeting?" That was news to Kaoru. "I doubt I'll be coming, my parent will be slightly annoyed if I invite him to such a trivial thing."

Shinji chuckled "Well, you have to come along anyway. It's mandatory, you get to watch people suffer." Shinji said with a malicious look in his eye. "You Lillim never cease to amaze me…"

The bell rang, Kaoru give Shinji a quick peck on the cheek before taking his seat. Shinji's sprits were raised considerably. The putrid smog of depression had cleared up into the freshest air anyone could breathe.

  


* * *

  


 The rest of the day was pretty general, with a few glances stolen by Shinji and Kaoru. The remaining two lessons went without major incident and everyone was awaiting the end of the day.

That was until. "Meeting is at 4:15. I expect everyone to be here." The expected collective groan erupted. Everyone took leave of the classroom. Well, everyone except those that had nothing else to do for 45 minutes. The class was left with Kensuke, Touji, Kaoru, Shinji, Asuka and Rei. "Touji, why aren't your parents coming?" Kensuke queried the green-haired stooge. "Work."

"Yeah, I know how that feels." Shinji uttered. "I'm sure you'll find something interesting to do Shinji-kun." The Angel smiled putting his hand on Shinji's shoulder. "With you around Kaoru, everything seems interesting."

"Am I missing something here?" muttered Kensuke. '_A whole lot more than you think Aida-kun_'

"No." Rei noticed the contact between the pair. She walked over and grabbed Shinji, taking him to one side. "Excuse me one moment, duty calls." Shinji squawked, not expecting Rei to be so violent. "Yeah, we know what your 'duty' is Ikari!" Touji made a whipping noise. 

"Ikari-kun, I wouldn't recommend you getting to close to Nagisa. He ver-"

"He said he's here to protect us Ayanami. I believe him." 

"How can you believe him?" Rei asked, wanting to know how Shinji had made such a strong bond with Tabris. "He's never lied to me before."

"Ikari, not doing it before is not an excuse." Rei raised her voice a little, it sounded more like Asuka's general volume, but it got the attention of the others. "Keep it down Ayanami! Besides, I have my other reasons. Just leave him alone."

"So be it Third child, but I still dislike the idea."

  


* * *

  


It was about ten past the hour. Almost all the parents are in. The group that lacked them held up at the back of the class, scowling at the more luckier. Two unexpected guests walked through the doorway. Shinji nearly had a heart attack.

Commander's Ikari and Fuuyutski stood at the entrance, as if waiting for a round of applause. Even though they didn't get it, they walked over to the desk that they needed to state their name and which children they were representing.

The secretary didn't bother looking up at the new arrivals. "Name?" She stated flatly. "Ikari, Gendou" 

_'Yeah right, and I'm a transgendered chimp'_  She decided to play along anyway. "Representing?" Gendou just looked at Fuuyutski, he was as baffled as the commander. Normally if people heard that name they would be out of their seats and begging him not to kill them for having such an insolent tone. "Ayanami Rei and Ikari Shinji" 

The secretary looked up to give him his timesheets. She jumped out of her deathly white skin. Fuuyutski smiled. "N-Name?" 

"Fuuyutski, Kozou." He raised his voice a little so he appeared he was angry although he was loving every second of it. "R-r-r-representing?" she gulped. 

"Asuka Langley Soryu." She handed him his timesheet, then promptly fainted.

Shinji just sat there in shock. Kensuke was prodding him to bring him back to reality. "This is a dream right?" Shinji said that as if he was about to die. "Nope I'm really here, als-"

"Now seeing Kozanae Juiro." Gendou despised being interrupted and was about to complain to nearby agents to prevent that from happening again until out of the corner of his eye. "Nagisa…I knew you'd be here somewhere" Shinji looked up to his father, with a hint of panic in his eye. "Father, no…he wont hurt us."

Gendou inwardly exploded. Did his own son, Shinji Ikari, call him his father?! "He's right Ikari, I wont. I've come here in the best interest of the Lillim, you will be safe around me." For some reason, that explanation worked on the Commander and he said no more of it.

Juiro and his sister were having a ball. The teacher had commented on how he was disruptive, about how he was not a team player and could do more to fit in. All the disturbances in class usually related to him in some way. Now sensei was babbling on about how his grades could improve ten-fold if he just settled down. Sara got off lightly, she was just the perfect little sheep. 

Juiro glanced over in Kensuke's direction, mouthing the words 'Soon, hang on just a bit more' He noticed his dad Grimace at one or two comments but otherwise kept a straight face. Once he got up out of his seat he motioned for his son to follow him. "Uh, dad can I stay here and hang around my friends?"

"Uhm, okay. As long as you don't plan on experimenting on mini-thermonuclear explosions anymore." Mr. Kozanae chuckled at that comment.

"Dad! I keep telling you, that was Kensuke!" Kozanae just nodded and walked out the door with Sara leaving with the comment "Suuuuurre."

Juiro immediately jumped up and into Kensuke's arms. "Oh darling, I thought your torture would never stop!" Kensuke cried out in fake sadness. "At least there was a light at the end of the tunnel." He gave Kensuke a quick kiss before hearing the teacher wail out another name.

"Now seeing Ayanami and Ikari." Rei left her seat and quietly went to the teacher's desk. Shinji and Gendou appeared as if they were walking down death row. Although it didn't physically manifest itself on Gendou he certainly felt like a leaf in the breeze.

"Right, where can we start, overall, Shinji's been a good student, he is quite conscientious but what he could do more is ask for help in class. He is always too quiet." Gendou couldn't make head nor tail of what he was saying, he was too busy trying to keep up his mask of indifference so he nodded.

"Hmm, his grades have been fine, apart from a little incident today, which when I look back might have judged him a bit harshly on…" 

_'Oh, y'think?!'_ Shinji mentally bawled at the teacher.

"…he is well behaved." The commander, thinking his 2 minute ordeal was over was forgetting that he had yet another minute to go, with Rei Ayanami sitting next to him.

"Rei, she is a very shy and quiet girl, she always finishes her assignments on time and gets the top grades in the class. She has a tendency to daydream thought. Other than that, there is nothing worth mentioning."

Gendou felt faint, the man who had stared death in the face a thousand times. A man who should by all accounts be dead, buried and forgotten, was still a man who couldn't talk to his son's sensei without relying on all his willpower. "Nice report Shinji, for that, I think I'll give you a pay rise. You too Rei."

Two muffled "Thank you"s were heard. Ikari walked outside leaving Fuuyutski on his own. _'Thank you "friend", leave me with the complete and utter psychopath why don't you?'_

"Now seeing Horaki Hikari."

  


* * *

  


Another hour or so of prattling on, it was the last interview, Fuuyutski and Asuka took up base. "You know Asuka, I used to work in a secondary school before I went higher up, I feel as if I should be on the other side of the table."

"Is that so."

Fuuyutski was getting annoyed at the girl. It wasn't anything she had done. It is what she wasn't doing. Not responding that is. He took his seat by the desk and prepared for something that should belong in a psychological report.

"Ah, Asuka…Well, Asuka here can be a big problem. For one she gets terrible grades-"

"That is because I haven't learned all the Kanji, as you know Sensei!"

"Which brings us onto our second point. Her personality. Asuka has a slight ego problem and she is quick to anger, she really should keep herself more calm…"

Fuuyutski had had enough after the five minute mark. "I'm sorry, but I am required at NERV now." Well, he had to use some excuse. "Oh, well then, thank you for your time then. Good day."

  


* * *

  


"Whoa, Asuka, looks like Sensei has it in for you."  Hikari stood there amazed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, we really need to get going, I need to chaperon these two home or they'll lose their self-control in the middle of the corridor." Touji chuckled. "Well we could say the same for you and Hikari now Suzahara-kun couldn't we." Touji blushed and threw a pen at Juiro.

One by one they left. Rei with Fuuyutski, Hikari and Touji with Kensuke and Juiro. All who was left was Nagisa, Soryu and Ikari. 

"Hey. Nagisa, would you like to spend the night round our house. It gets so boring with only Captain Cleanliness around?" Asuka asked, forgetting the fact that he wasn't exactly human. "You trust me?"

"No, but you're cute." Shinji raised his eyebrow. He had never seen Asuka succumb to anyone so fast…except Kaji of course. "Hey Kaoru, I think she has a crush on you."

Kaoru blushed. Why did Shinji tease him like that? "What? No! Hell, you've probably got more of a chance than me. Only for the simple reason he prefers boys. Even then, we come close to tying"

 "So you're saying you look like a boy?" Shinji laughed. He knew he was going to pay but it was worth it. "Only a pervert like you would think of something like that!" Asuka half-heartedly argued.

Kaoru, sensing tempers flaring decided to mediate. "In answer to your question…yes I'd be honoured."

Shinji smiled. It was about time to leave anyway. The school was about to be locked up. They took their leave of the accursed place once again. Only to face up to the fact that they'd have to come back in two days. They hated Sunday classes.

  


* * *

  


Walking home had never been so arduous. Asuka had this thing about staring at Kaoru. He'd get embarrassed and walk slower, just so Asuka would overtake him. But she slowed down too. Causing even more problems. Shinji had had enough. He grabbed Kaoru's hand and dragged him along. Kaoru didn't really have any objections at this point. I'm sure if he did, they would have been thoroughly ignored.

Once they did arrive home, they were greeted with a hungry penguin. "Ohh, Misato forgot to leave food out for Pen-Pen." Asuka grumbled, fetching Pen-Pen's tuna. Asuka was inwardly grinning. She was going to prove to herself that Shinji was gay, whether he liked it or not. The holding hands thing did not go unnoticed by Asuka. Hell, it couldn't have gone unnoticed to a blind man. 

"So fifth child, what kind of a guy do you go for anyway?" Asuka asked, with a glint in her eye. Kaoru sat down on the couch next to Shinji. He picked up Pen-Pen from the spot to his left and started playing with him. "Well, he has to be smart, attractive, good personality, y'know, the usual stuff." said Kaoru, trying not to give the game away too much. "I see, what about you Shinji, what type of guy do you go for?"

"Well I-Hey! I'm not gay!" Shinji tried to save himself from the slip-up. Kaoru felt slightly hurt, but decided it was a typical reaction to that type of thing for Shinji "I'll bet, I see you checking out Nagisa, don't deny it Shinji, I never make mistakes like that."

"But I didn't!" Asuka could see both of them getting nervous about this line of conversation, although she loved ripping apart Shinji from the inside, Kaoru too to some extent, she was getting hungry. Hunger displaced anger…sometimes, but she was really hungry. "Oh Shinji!"

"With all you eat Asuka, it's a wonder you don't gain any weight." The third grumbled, making his way to the kitchen. "I'll take that as a compliment." She turned around and stared at Kaoru. He was feeling uneasy under the girl's glare. He was about to ask why she was looking at him but she turned her attention to Shinji in the kitchen.

"Don't put as much salt as you did last time on, idiot boy." All she got back was a sigh and an 'okay'.

Kaoru got up from the comforts of the sofa to go and help Shinji, Asuka was making him nervous. Asuka switched on the TV. "American Sitcom, not funny." **Click** "Chat show, ew no" **Click** "Hmm, Anime…whatever, nothing good comes on anymore."

Out of sight in the kitchen a certain grey haired angel snuck up on a certain third child. He slipped his arms around Shinji's waist. Shinji's reaction was to close his eyes and smile. "I don't think you should be doing this while Asuka is-"

Shinji turned round, Kaoru placed his finger on Shinji's lips. "She won't know, she's too engrossed in her shows." Shinji fidgeted in Kaoru's grip. "I need to finish the food." Kaoru let go of him, disappointed that he couldn't hold onto the object of his affection any more.

Shinji went back to his work. Kaoru watched him. Wondering what the food would taste like. Sure he'd had it before, but it was nothing much, just a snack or two. "So, what are you making?"

"Hmm? American food, burgers and fries. Not the normal stuff you get over here but it'll do."

"I'm sure whatever you make will be a masterpiece." Shinji blushed. "Kaoru-kun, you're embarrassing me. Besides…it's done." He put the meals on the plates, took two of them and proceeded towards his 'mistress'. "Oh, that other one's for you."

_'I'm not that dumb Shinji'_ He laughed. "Of course." He took the remaining plate and followed Shinji. "Finally! What took you so long?!"

"Soryu, you probably would've said that no matter how long he took." Kaoru sensed he was playing with fire. "Shut up, Wonderboy!"

  


* * *

  


"Damn you to hell Gendou." An old professor shouted from the doorway.

"I'd probably be running the place and have efficiency doubled within a few hours." Fuuyutski stood there shocked. "D-did you just make a joke?! You've made an old man very proud." Fuuyutski mock cried.

"Besides, you had to stick me with the second didn't you? The one who has more wild mood swings that Akagi-san." Gendou chuckled. "Yes, the second is a bit of a handful, but someone had to represent her."

"Ikari, she had the teacher in tears half-way through." Gendou raised an eyebrow." He fiddled with the pen on the desk full of...nothing. "Interesting, anyway, back to business. Kozanae's son. Have intelligence found out anything yet?" Gendou asked. He wished he would receive more reports. They all landed on Kozou's desk.

"Unfortunately no, SEELE must be planning something big, or they would've struck their blow by now."

"Well, we'll know when the time comes. I have faith in Mr. Kaji's abilities."

  


* * *

  


Back in the desert, Misato was making preparations to head back to Tokyo-3. She had had enough. The training was practically complete, an entire new platoon of NERV soldiers, combat ready. A glint was seen in the sky, then a noise, similar to a vacuum cleaner was heard. In a few seconds, a great mechanical beast came from the sky and landed not 4 metres away from Major Katsuragi.

"Major Katsuragi?" She nodded, then boarded the transport. "Sit tight, we'll be back at NERV before you can bat an eyelid." The transport fired up its jets and took off from the training grounds. She looked down at the platoon. Everything was going according to plan.

A brilliant white light dazzled the sky. It blinded the passengers of the transport. The noise was deafening. "An N2 mine!" The major shouted out, the transport shook from side to side. An alarm rung in the cockpit. "Primary power lost! Switching to backups!" The lights in the cabin flickered. Everyone was scared. Except one man in the corner. Misato didn't notice him before. She looked back out the window…"The platoon, the base…everything…gone…" 

She heard two gunshots in the cabin. This was not Misato's day. The two armed guards that were supposed to be protecting her lay dead on the floor. They were too preoccupied looking out the window. The man who was in the corner showed his face. Pointing a gun to her head he just said. "Major Katsuragi, you are under arrest, by authority of SEELE."

She sighed. She didn't have the best of luck these days.

  


* * *

  


The familiar darkened room. Six figures sat there, all bathed in different coloured light. At the head of the conference table sat Kihl Lorenz. At the tables length the other four members of SEELE sat. At the bottom of the table, a mysterious figure appeared.

"Everything is going to plan I assume?" SEELE-02 asked. "Well I'm sure they couldn't go any better. The NERV platoon has been wiped out, Major Katsuragi has been placed under arrest and NERV are on their toes trying to protect 'him' from a threat that doesn't exist." 

"At the moment we have very limited funding. I doubt we can manage much more. Are you sure that will be enough to finish off the project?" The one with the crooked nose spoke.

"Project Goliath is proceeding according to plan. As soon as it is finished, nothing shall stand in our way." 

Kihl glared at the figure behind his visor. "Thank you for your time. You may leave now."

The chair containing the unknown man disappeared into nothingness. "I hope you know what you're doing Kihl…" 

  


* * *

  


Night time in Tokyo-3. It was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night. The pubs and clubs should be bursting, but no. Everything was silent. The city had been put on alert. Word had gotten to Commander Ikari that his troops and Major Katsuragi had been wiped out from an N2 blast. He wasn't very happy.

In the residence of Miss Katsuragi, Asuka, Shinji and Kaoru didn't have anything to do anyway. The alert didn't really faze or bother them too much. Asuka yawned. "Well, I think I shall be going to bed. Night Shinji!" She yelled out that last bit for no apparent reason. Sometimes Asuka scared him. Make that all of the time Asuka scared him.

The other two just watched Asuka go into her room with dumb looks on their faces. "She's crazy."

"I heard that fifth child!" Came the scream from Asuka's bedroom. Kaoru gulped and vowed not to enrage her again. He knew he wouldn't be able to, but he had to try, for the sake of his life.

Shinji and Kaoru seemed distant. They were at opposite ends of the couch. The movie that was on made Kaoru laugh. Dogma must be a riot for him. Well, he has inside knowledge of what heaven is really like. 

Kaoru shuffled closer to Shinji, they were still far apart however. Shinji didn't really notice it. "You know, I think Angels don't get drunk anyway." Kaoru pointed out.

Kaoru shuffled over again. Shinji was getting sleepy so he still didn't notice. The third time however, he did notice, Kaoru was practically on top of him. "K-Kaoru?" he stuttered groggily. Kaoru just smiled and put his arm round Shinji's shoulder. The third child just rested his head on Kaoru's chest.

It wasn't long before he fell asleep. Kaoru didn't have the guts to wake him up. He just run his finger's through the boys hair. Every so often Shinji moaned in his sleep, which brought the angel to wonder what he was dreaming about. He respected Shinji's privacy this time, so he didn't enter his dream as he had done before so many times. Kaoru knew that these times wouldn't last. So he had to cherish them. Yes, Nagisa knew everything that was going on. But to tell anyone of what was going on, it would bring disaster to all of mankind. He continued messing up Shinji's hair, sighing. "I only hope the other doesn't mess things up."

  


* * *

  


Rei Ayanami on the other hand was swamped with work. She was sick to the teeth of all the paperwork that Ritsuko had forced on her. But she complied anyway, just because she was ordered to. Most of it was Misato's for she was missing, presumed dead. The pencil she was working with snapped, she let out a low growl. "Miss Ayanami?" 

Maya strolled in. "Yes?" She dropped a pile of papers on the desk

"Ritsuko-sempai told me to give you this. It's your synch test scores. She needs you to fill out the sheet." If Maya hadn't known any better, she could have sworn she head Rei whisper 'Bitch'.

"Y'know, I'm free now, need any help with the paperwork?" Rei's eyes lit up _'Would you, would you, would you, would you?!'_

"I wouldn't mind the help." Rei smiled, she would be out faster with the technicians help. "I wonder why Ritsuko-sempai would dump all of this workload on you. I mean, there are thousands of other employees just as able to do this as you."

Rei's insides were like lit fireworks. _'That bitch'_

"That bitch." Maya's eyes doubled in size, she must need her ears checked and she thought she should ignore that comment. "It's a shame about Misato…she was a good officer and a good person…how do you think the other children will react."

"I wouldn't like to be around to find out." Rei grinned. Maya smiled back.

  


* * *

  


Kaji stood there, he had been on his feet all day, well, tomorrow was his day off anyway. Some other agent could do the babysitting duties. The bags round his eyes had bags round them. "Careful Kaji, I think you might have too much blood in your caffeine system." 

Kaji smiled, he liked this kid Juiro. Always cracking jokes. "So where's Kensuke tonight, eh?  Trouble in paradise?" Juiro smiled, Ryouji knew he was going to pay dearly for that. "He has to stay at home. His grandparents are making him clean up his house."

"What about you, where's Misato?" Kaji's smile suddenly turned into a pained expression. "Oh…she's away." 

"Kaji, you're a terrible liar." Sara said flatly, walking into the room. "What really happened?"

"Sorry, it's on a need to know basis, you don't need to know. How come your dad is never here?" Kaji asked, changing the subject. "I swear he lives at NERV." Juiro spat. "Never here for us." 

"Hmm, I'm sure whatever project he's working on will be completed soon. Sometimes people get swamped." Juiro just nodded, leaving one question. "Why is the city on alert?"

"Also, classified."

  


* * *

  


At Caspar, a lonely figure with a stone look on his face was working on the super computer. He pulled out something that resembled a cell phone and attached it to the inside of the Magi. He tried to make it not so out of place. The security cameras would be coming online again any minute. NERV were stupid. Every Friday they brought down their CCTV system for maintenance, God knows why they did it. Those things were meant to last for 3 years without problems. "There we go…perfect." He pushed a few buttons on the device and it sprung to life. "Soon, very soon, the world will be at its knees…"

What the man didn't notice is, that someone was watching him. NERV weren't so stupid as to leave such items as the Magi unwatched.  
The guard walked over to where the man was standing. "Sir, come with me please." the guard ordered unholstering his gun. "No, I don't think I will..." The guard didn't have time to wonder what was happening. The man that was there a few seconds ago had...disappeared. "Who the hell was that...?"

  


* * *

  


Author notes: Rar, quick chapter that one was. 5000 words in the space of 12 hours. Probably not all that great but yanno. Heh, you'll've probably all guessed what is who. But you don't know what else I'm planning. I'm babbling now. I'll leave you all to wonder. Why is everyone trusting Tabris so readily though?


End file.
